Micrel, Inc. MIC47053
August 2012 9 M9999-080712-B
Functional Description
The MIC47053 is a high-speed, ultra-low dropout,
NMOS ULDO designed to take advantage of point-of-
load applications that use supply rails to generate a low-
voltage, high-current power supply. The MIC47053 can
source 0.5A of output current while only requiring a 1µF
ceramic output capacitor for stability. The MIC47053
regulator is fully protected from damage due to fault
conditions, offering linear current limiting and thermal
shutdown.
Bias Supply Voltage
VBIAS, requiring relatively light current, provides power to
the control portion of the MIC47053. Bypassing on the
bias pin is recommended to improve performance of the
regulator during line and load transients. Small 0.1µF
ceramic capacitors from VBIAS-to-ground help reduce
high frequency noise from being injected into the control
circuitry from the bias rail and are good design practice.
Input Supply Voltage
VIN provides the supply to power the LDO. The minimum
input voltage is 1.0V. This allows conversion from low
voltage supplies to reduce the power dissipation in the
pass element.
Input Capacitor
The MIC47053 is a high-performance, high bandwidth
device. Therefore, it requires a well-bypassed input
supply for optimal performance. A 1µF capacitor is the
minimum required for stability. A 10µF ceramic capacitor
is recommended for most applications, especially if the
LDO’s headroom (VIN –VOUT) is small and/or large load
transients are present. Fast load transient and low
headroom requires a larger input filter capacitor to
ensure that the regulator does not drop out of regulation.
A 10µF will better attenuate any voltage glitches from
exceeding the maximum voltage rating of the part.
Additional high-frequency capacitors, such as small-
valued NPO dielectric-type capacitors, help filter out
high-frequency noise and are good practice in any RF-
based circuit.
X7R and X5R dielectric ceramic capacitors are
recommended because of their temperature
performance. X7R-type capacitors change capacitance
by 15% over their operating temperature range and are
the most stable type of ceramic capacitors. Z5U and
Y5V dielectric capacitors are not recommended since
they change value by as much as 50% and 60%
respectively over their operating temperature ranges. To
use a ceramic-chip capacitor with Y5V dielectric, the
value must be much higher than an X7R ceramic or a
tantalum capacitor to ensure the same capacitance
value over the operating temperature range.
Tantalum capacitors have a very stable dielectric (10%
over their operating temperature range) and can also be
used with this device.
Output Capacitor
The MIC47053 requires an output capacitor of 1µF or
greater to maintain stability. The design is optimized for
use with low-ESR ceramic chip capacitors. High-ESR
capacitors may cause high-frequency oscillation. The
output capacitor can be increased, but performance has
been optimized for a 1µF ceramic output capacitor and
does not improve significantly with larger capacitance.
(See the Typical Characteristic section for examples of
load transient response).
The output capacitor type and placement criteria are the
same as the input capacitor. See the “Input Capacitor”
subsection for a detailed description.
Minimum Load Current
The MIC47053, unlike most other regulators, does not
require a minimum load to maintain output voltage
regulation.
Adjustable Regulator Design
The MIC47053 allows programming of the output voltage
with external resistors. The R2 resistor connected
between the ADJ pin and ground should not exceed
10k, as larger values can cause instability. R1
connects between the ADJ pin and the OUT pin. The
resistor values are calculated as follows:
1
0.4V
OUT
V
R2R1
Where VOUT is the desired output voltage and 0.4V is the
internal reference voltage.
Enable/Shutdown
The MIC47053 comes with a single active-high enable
pin that allows the regulator to be disabled. Forcing the
enable pin low disables the regulator and sends it into a
“zero” off-mode-current state. In this state, current
consumed by the regulator goes nearly to zero. Forcing
the enable pin high enables the output voltage.